The Island of No Return
by bowser1918
Summary: Ash, May, Brock, Team Rocket, and all of their pokemon are in for one heckuva ride when they arrive on Newfound Island. sorry I suck at summarries... Advanceshipping and rocketshipping all in one story! R&R, but please no flames....
1. Chapter 1

The Island of No Return

Disclaimer: No, I don't own pokemon and probably never will. And I'm not making money off of this fic either.

Summary: Ash, Mae, Brock, Team rocket, and all of their pokemon are in for one heckuva ride when they arrive on Newfound Island.

The most impatient pokemon trainer in all of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn sighed. "When are we gonna get there? I've heard so many great stories about the powerful pokemon on Newfound Island, but IT'S TAKING FOREVER TO GET TO THIS DAMN PLACE!" Ash and company (Brock and Mae, this time) were riding yet another ferry to yet another island.

"Chill out Ash! At least we don't have to deal with my little brother this time…." Mae sighed of relief. She somehow convinced her parents to take him back for this one excursion.

"Hey guys, I think I see it!" Brock shouted to Ash and Mae.

"Ohhhhhh, where is it Brock!" asked Ash, sounding surprisingly like a girl.

"Strait ahead." Brock turned Ash's head towards what looked like a rock right in front of them.

"Yay! I can't wait to dock!" Ash squealed with excitement. He grabbed Pikachu and hopped up and down with it.

Mae shook her head at Ash's childish behavior. 'And to think I might like him…..' Mae thought to herself. She sighed. 'Oh well.'

Meanwhile, another trio was flying strait towards Newfound Island. "God, why can't that stupid little rat and his dumb ass trainer 'Blast Off' for once?" Jessie scowled.

"Well, it _could _be worse." James said.

"How?" Jessie looked unconvinced.

"Well….. We could've hit the ground by now!" James did his weird little giggle. Jessie whacked him with her mallet.

"You guys….." Meowth sounded worried.

"NOT NOW CAT." Jessie and James yelled in unison.

"But we're about to…." Meowth began. They all hit the ground at full force. Groans of pain came from the Rockets.

"I really hope the twerps are having just as much fun as we are……" Jessie said more to herself than anyone else. Little did she or anyone else know that very soon this normal looking island would cause all of their lives to change…… forever.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello. Welcome to Newfound Island. I really hope you enjoy your stay here." The Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Center greeted Ash and company.

"She sounds like a robot……" Mae whispered to Ash. He chuckled.

"Hey Nurse Joy……. Could you show me on a tour of the island?" Brock tried to, yet again, hit on Nurse Joy.

"God, you _are_ desperate……" Mae said, dragging Brock by the ear, Misty-styled.

Ash looked at the stars and night sky from the sliding glass doors of the Pokemon Center. "Guys, I hate to say this, but I think we should hit the hay if we're going to get up early to look for pokemon tomorrow."

"Wow Ash! Usually I have to say that……." Brock gave Ash a "round of applause". Ash didn't look amused.

"Well goodnight you guys." Ash said, rather hurried. He practically ran to their room.

"What's up with him?" Brock asked Mae. She didn't respond. 'Mae? Hello? Earth to Mae……"

She snapped out of her little dream world. "Oh, ummmm….. I dunno." She blushed. "Well goodnight Brock!" She also ran to their room. 'Man that was stupid!' She thought to herself. 'I'm gonna have a lot of questions to answer from Brock in the morning……'

'Children…..' Brock thought, confused. He then followed suit.

"Uggg…… why couldn't our balloon blast off with us?" Jessie complained. "At least then we'd have a tent!" Of course, with their luck, a downpour started. "Great…. just great….." Jessie mumbled.

"Come on, let's find shelter…." James said, ignoring Jessie. They searched for a while, until they found the biggest pine tree on the island (conveniently located right next to the Pokemon Center, I might add). "I guess this will do." James sat down under the tree's foliage, and Meowth and Jessie sat on either side of him.

"James, do you think we'll get Pikachu tomorrow?" Jessie asked him.

"Do you want an honest answer?" James asked back. Meowth snickered.

"Yes I do, James." Jessie looked cross.

"Well then, no I don't think we'll catch Pikachu tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that….." James trailed off. Jessie sighed.

"That's what I thought." She sighed again. "Oh well. Just making sure I wasn't the only one who was pessimistic……." She rested her head on James' shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Goodnight James. Goodnight Meowth."

"Goodnight Jess," said Meowth. He put his head on James' lap.

"Goodnight Jess," said James. He smiled to himself. Maybe tomorrow would be better. But he was wrong. So very, _very, _wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Thanks to a kind reviewer, I now know that Mae is actually spelled May. Lol! And I'll try to make chapters longer…….

The next morning, Ash was the first to wake up (not surprisingly). "Get up Pikachu! We could get going before the others even wake up……." He shook the yellow mouse. Pikachu shocked him. "Owwww……….. I thought you stopped doing that….." Ash said to Pikachu, however, it had already fallen back asleep. Ash sighed. "Sometimes I think that I'm the only one who really cares about catching pokemon…." Ash sat on the edge of his bed, anxiously awaiting his companions' awakenings.

About two hours later, the others began to wake up. "Good morning!" May said between yawns. Ash was silent. She rose out of her bed. "Well, I see someone's already up!" May was surprised that Ash was actually ready for once.

"Well, I was excited to get started….." Ash explained

"Ash, it's only eight now! How early did you want to leave!" May asked, looking at the clock.

"...As soon as I woke up, which was about two hours ago." Ash smiled.

"Ash Ketchum, you're absolutely nuts if you think I'm going to wake up at six in the morning _on a Saturday _to look for pokemon who are probably intelligent enough to avoid us anyways." May firmly stated.

"Well excuse me for being an enthusiastic trainer!" Ash huffed.

"I'm an enthusiastic trainer, just not at six in the morning!" May retorted.

"Guys, do you have to fight as soon as you wake up?" Brock asked them.

"Yes!" They said together. May blushed.

Brock sighed. "Whatever……. Look I'm going to go get some grub from the lobby. Then we'll decide what we'll do today, alright?"

"Fine." They said together again. May turned even redder. "Bring some food for me and Pikachu too." Ash added.

"And don't forget me and Torchic!" May added as Brock walked out.

'Maybe I shouldn't have left them alone……' Brock thought as he left. He hit himself on the head. "Keep your mind out of the gutter Brock….." He whispered to himself.

Back in the room, awkward silence loomed. "So May," Ash said, breaking the silence. "If you don't want to catch pokemon, what do you want to do today?"

May, still kind of red, replied "Well we could see what kind of tourist attractions the island has to offer, or maybe see if a festival in town!" May smiled at the thought.

"May, there's a festival in almost every town we go to!" Ash pointed out.

"So? Festivals are fun no matter where you go!" May said, dreaming of the food and games of the festivals she'd been to.

"But they get boring!" Ash whined.

"Do not!" May spat.

"Do to!" Ash yelled. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her to get his point across.

"Do not!" She took his shoulders and shook him back. Just then Brock entered the room.

Brock smiled evilly. "Am I interrupting something?" He immediately wished he hadn't said that.

"I was just trying to tell her that festivals get old after you've been to a thousand of them." Ash told him, not realizing what Brock was implying.

But May understood exactly what Brock meant. "Brock, why I ought to….."

"Never mind it May, let's just eat." Brock said. By presenting all of the food he had brought, he saved himself from May's wrath. Without another word, the three trainers and all of the pokemon ate a hearty breakfast.

After all of them had finished eating, May asked, "So what _are _we going to do today?"

"I don't know about you two, but I'm looking for rare pokemon." Ash said for the millionth time.

"May, you did say you wanted to go to a festival, right?" Brock asked her.

"Yes I did," she answered hopefully.

"Well, there's one in town today! I overheard a couple of people mention it. It's in the town square and it's celebrates all pokemon! The food and admission are free too…." Brock said.

"YAY! Let's go!" May squealed.

Ash fumed in the corner. "Well, I guess I'll catch a bunch of cool pokemon by myself today."

"Ok, whatever Ash. This festival sounds so cool…. Too bad you'll miss out!" May smiled. On that note, the three left the room and went outside. May stopped and looked around. Under the nearby pine tree, she thought she saw Team Rocket. "Hey you guys, I think Team Rocket's spying on us again!" May sighed. Those guys never give up. Brock approached Team Rocket cautiously.

"Don't worry you guys, they're just asleep." Brock assured them. 'God, I don't want to know _what _they were doing last night….' Brock thought, seeing how Jessie was practically on top of James.

Just as Brock was thinking dirty things, Meowth woke up. 'Oh goody, it's the twerps! They think we're sleeping…. I guess I'll play along then," thought Meowth.

Ash, ignoring Brock and May, looked around him. This was a quaint little island, with much more greenery than most. Looking west, he saw a giant mountain with a lush forest surrounding its base. "Hey guys, while you're at your lame festival, I'm going to go check out that mountain!"

"Ok. Meet us by curfew at the Pokemon Center." Brock said.

"I will. Bye!" Ash, with Pikachu on his shoulder, sprinted towards the mountain.

"Well, that leaves us to go to the Pokemon festival! Come on Brock," May said, already starting to head towards the town square. Brock jogged to catch up to her.

When he was sure the twerps were out of earshot, Meowth attempted to wake up his partners in crime. "Wake up! I know what the twerps are doing today!" They other two sprung up when the heard the word 'twerps'.

"Twerps? What are they doing!" James asked.

"Two of them are going to the Pokemon festival in town today, while the other one is exploring that mountain." Meowth pointed to the huge mountain.

"Well, why don't we split up and tail them?" Jessie suggested.

"Ok by Meowth!" Meowth said. "Jimmy, you go to the mountain while the two of us go to the festival."

"But……" James began. He had to admit, that mountain looked really scary.

"Come on James….. Please?" Jessie made puppy eyes at him.

"Well alright…." James muttered.

"Thank you James!" She gave him a quick hug, and then went off with Meowth towards town square. "That always works on him," she whispered to Meowth. He snickered.

James sighed. He didn't want to go to the scary mountain alone. 'Well, it's for the team,' he thought. Then he saw the twerp in the distance and began to follow him towards the mountain.

And thus the true plot of the story began to unfold…….


	4. Chapter 4

May skipped in content. This had been by far been the best carnival that she'd ever been to. There were so many booths with things to buy, and even more with games and prizes to win. "Hey, Brock look over there!" She pointed at a secluded hut at the very edge of the fairgrounds.

"Maybe that's a secret attraction or something," Brock said. The two walked into the hut, with Jessie and Meowth close behind them. However, the 2/3 of Team Rocket didn't dare go into the hut (for fear of being seen).

A bell rang as May and Brock entered. "Welcome my children, I have foreseen your arrival." A creepy voice echoed through the hut. May screamed in terror.

"Who are you and what are you talking about! Reveal yourself!" May cried in fear. The voice laughed. Out from behind a red velvet curtain at the back of the room, an old woman emerged.

"Don't be frightened little girl, I say that to all who enter here." She smiled, showing that she only had four teeth.

"Well ma'am, what do you do here?" Brock asked politely.

"I tell tourists, such as you, of the legends of this island." She calmly answered.

"Hey, how do you know we're tourists!" May asked warily. She still didn't trust the old lady.

"If you lived here, you would know that I am the mayor of this island, and that this house is not a carnival booth!" She smiled.

"Oh….." May felt kind of awkward now, but after a few moments silence she asked, "Could you please tell us a legend?"

"Oh of course, my pretty." She cackled. May, and Brock for that matter, were now officially freaked out. "I think I'll tell you a tourist favorite. Do you see that mountain in the distance?" She pointed out the window to the very same mountain that Ash (and James) had gone to.

"Yes, our friend headed there earlier today……." Brock explained. The old woman hissed.

"Fools! Have you not heard of the dangers of that mountain!" She spat. Brock and May shook their heads. "Legend has it that a pokemon of extraordinary strength lives in or around that mountain. No one knows what it does to the humans it meet, because none have come back alive! Except for one, but he was delirious by the time he was found. All he kept saying was 'big purple thing' over and over again." She finished.

"So you're saying that you think Ash will never come back alive!" May sounded really worried. The old lady just sat and laughed. "Brock, we have to go after him!"

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you. You'll end up dead too!" She continued laughing hysterically. With that, Brock and May left the hut and went back outside.

"Brock, I'm really worried." May was trying to stop her tears. "What if he does die like all of the others who went to the mountain? What if the legend is true!"

"May, relax. The old lady probably says that to everyone, just to freak them out." Brock reassured her. She was still not fully convinced. "Hey, I'll treat you to some cotton candy!" Brock offered. She smiled.

"Thanks Brock…." She said sadly. It took all of her self control not to add, 'but all I really want is Ash to be safe…..' The two of them plodded off to the candy booth, leaving Jessie and Meowth to think.

Team Rocket came out of their hiding spot. "Did she say something like 'whoever goes to that mountain dies'?" Meowth asked Jessie.

"Yes, she did, but I think it's all just a legend. They would've closed of that area to the public if it were true. And besides, we told James to meet us in front of the Pokemon Center by sundown, no matter what. So I'm not worried….." However, Jessie's face said more than her words did. Meowth could tell she was actually very concerned, but he knew better than to say anything. "Come on Meowth, we're going to lose them!" They hurried to catch up to the twerps.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Ash was having a hard time. "Wow, this forest doesn't look that large from a distance, Pikachu." Ash told Pikachu. "Maybe I should've gone with them to that festival, because I haven't seen a single pokemon……." Ash sadly said. He heard a swishing sound in the bushes. Ash quickly went into "get-that-pokemon" mode. He dropped to all fours and crawled towards the bush. "GOTCHA!" He yelled as he jumped into the bush.

"Ack! Get off of me, twerp!" James pushed Ash off of him.

"Hey, what are you doing here? And where's the other two?" Ash asked James.

"Well, I was sent to tail you, but you found me. And those two went off following the other two twerps." James explained.

"James, you really suck at being evil….." Ash commented. James' face flushed, but he said nothing. "Look, James it's getting late. Why don't we head back to the city so we can both meet up with our friends, alright?"

James was shocked. "You actually _trust _me?"

"Of course. You're not really evil, and besides, when you're not with Jessie and Meowth, you're no threat to me at all." Ash replied.

"Well, alright then. But _please _don't tell Jessie about this….." James begged.

"I won't. I promise." Ash shook hands with James. The pair then started to head east, towards the city. The walk was long (they had been heading into the forest all day, not remembering that they would have to meet their friends by sundown.).

"Hey James, I'm bored. Do you have anything to talk about?" Ash asked James. James was looking at the sky, and was too deep in thought to answer. "Hello….. Earth to James…?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about something……." James sighed dreamily.

"Don't you mean _someone_?" Ash smiled all-knowingly. James' mouth dropped, almost to the floor.

"Since when did you grow a brain?" James asked.

"I'm not as stupid as I used to be James... I am 14 now, I understand things like this." Ash explained.

"……..Can you keep a secret?" James' voice lowered to a whisper.

"Yes. I can." Ash said.

"Well then maybe I like someone……" James' voice got softer as he spoke.

"Let me guess. You really like Jessie, but in fear of getting hit with her mallet or ruining your friendship, you never told her." Ash concluded. James was silent for a moment.

"Well you go through the same thing with that May girl!" James retorted.

"Very true….." Ash sighed. James was in shock.

"So you _do _like her…… I always wondered…." James trailed off.

"Look just don't tell her _under threat of death." _ Ash said gravely.

"I won't as long as you don't tell Jessie about me! Deal?" James offered his hand.

"Deal." Ash shook his hand, for the second time this evening. Now they were about halfway out of the forest. Suddenly, a huge purple mass dropped down from the trees above their heads. "What the….!" He was cut off.

"Do not fear me, puny human scum." The assumed pokemon said.

"What are you….?" James asked it.

"That is for me to know….. And for you to never find out!" It replied. That was all they remembered before their world went black.


	5. Chapter 5

When Ash awoke, all he could see was a small candle to his left. He was apparently in a cave, on the floor, in a cage with James beside him. However, James was still unconscious and both his and James' pokemon were gone. "Where am I?" He wondered out loud.

"You are prisoners in my lair, puny human." A voice said from behind him. Ash snapped his neck around and saw the thing that abducted him. This was the first time that Ash saw the pokemon clearly. It was taller than most people, about seven feet tall by Ash's reckoning. The only color on its body was purple, aside from the whites of its eyes. Then, Ash realized it closely resembled Mewtwo!

'Must be an odd coincidence…' Ash thought. Then he asked, "Are you a pokemon? And where did Pikachu and all of our other pokemon go?"

"Yes, I am a pokemon. And I assure you, your pokemon will be safe." It answered.

"Why did you kidnap us?" Ash asked. The pokemon laughed evilly.

"You'll find out all in good time. And in the meanwhile, will you tell me your name and where this 'May' person is staying?"

"Hey, how do you know about May?" Ash was getting angry at this thing now.

"I was following you and overheard your conversation with the other human." It laughed again.

"Oh…." Ash mumbled. "Well, my name's Ash. And I will only tell you where May is if you promise me that you won't harm her."

"No. I won't even kidnap her. I just want to deliver something to her." It replied. The pokemon was actually telling the truth.

"Fine. She's staying at the Pokemon Center in the city." Ash answered. He thought it was best to comply to his captor's wishes, just in case the pokemon might hurt him. Ash heard James mumble.

"I want a doughnut….." He said groggily as he awoke.

"Perfect timing!" The purple pokemon exclaimed in delight. "What's your name, and where is 'Jessie'?" The creature innocently asked James.

"I'm James from Team Rocket, and Jessie's under the pine tree in front of the Pokemon Center……" James said, half asleep. He then fell back into unconsciousness. The mysterious pokemon smiled. Then it took what looked like a notepad out of the pouch on its stomach and quickly scribbled something down.

"I'll be back in a bit….." It said. "Don't go anywhere." It paused. "Not like you could, anyways!" It went into hysterics. Then it left the cave, but its laughs could be heard until its shadow floated away out sight. It was headed in the direction of the city.

'Boy, I hope it keeps its promises…' Ash thought.

Meanwhile, Brock and May were still waiting for Ash to arrive. "God, where _is _he?" May wondered to herself. Curfew was only a half-hour away.

"May, Ash probably just went too far into the forest and forgot that he had to come out. He's probably camping out with Pikachu tonight, and he'll be here in the morning." Brock tried to comfort her, but to no avail.

May was about to cry. All she could think about was Ash and his safety. "Brock, I think I'll get some fresh air. Maybe that'll calm my nerves."

"Alright, but you better be in by curfew," Brock warned.

"I will," May left the front lobby.

Under the pine tree in front of the Center, Jessie and Meowth sat in troubled silence. "Where is he! He's never late to anything……" Jessie's voice croaked.

"Come on Jess, you know that the twerp's sense of direction is terrible! He probably got lost, which made James get lost too……." Meowth said. Jessie still looked terribly upset. Meowth then crawled over and sat himself in her lap, in hopes of consoling her. Usually, she would've pushed him off, but she was so sad that she didn't notice him. Jessie finally broke down and started to cry softly.

May looked around. 'Hey, I think I hear someone crying…..' She thought. She followed the noises to the pine tree. She peered through the pine needles to see what appeared to be Jessie and Meowth. "Jessie, is that you?" She called into the bush.

"Go away….." Jessie mumbled.

"Why are you crying?" May asked, ignoring her command.

"Why do you care? You're my mortal enemy, twerp." Jessie remarked.

"Well that doesn't mean that I can't care about your general well being……" May said. "And my name's May, not twerp. But if you don't want me here I'll leave…….." She began to walk back to the Center.

'God, I can not believe I'm about to say this…..' Jessie thought. "May, wait….." May turned around. "……..Could I talk to you? I really need to talk to someone besides the cat….." She pointed to Meowth, who was already asleep.

May smiled. 'I knew it…… I _have_ always wanted to know a little more about Team Rocket, like what they do when they're not chasing us……' May thought. Then she plopped herself down right next to Jessie, just as if they were best buddies. "So what's wrong, Jessie?"

"Well….. I sent James off to follow the twerp. I told him to meet me here by sundown, but he never came! And he's not the type of guy who's ever late…." Jessie explained.

"If it makes you feel any better, Ash hasn't come back either. Brock told him to meet us in the Pokemon Center, but he's gone missing as well." May said. "I wonder if they're ok……." May sighed. She yawned. "I guess we'll see what happens when the morning comes……." Her voice trailed off. She yawned again. "I better go in before the Center's doors are locked. Goodnight Jessie. I'm sure they're both safe…." May lied, just to comfort Jessie. Truly, May was just as upset as Jessie was (if not more).

"……G'night……" Jessie whispered. She then decided to try to join Meowth in sleep. 'Wow, the twerp's girlfriend isn't that bad….' She thought, just before she went into slumber.

'Wow…. Jessie's really not that bad." Thought May as she re-entered the Center.

"Come on, May. You need sleep." Brocks lead her to the room. "Good night." He said.

"Good night." She said back. Surprisingly, she fell asleep very quickly. However, all of her dreams were filled with pleasant images of Ash.

May opened her eyes the next morning, but she couldn't see. 'What in the world?" May ripped a giant sticky-note off of her forehead. She read the note aloud:

"To whomever it may concern:

I have the one called "Ash". If you ever want to see him again, you must come and claim him. He is being held in the mountain to the west of where you are now."

"Oh no….." May thought.

"Oh no what?" Brock asked. She handed him the note and he read it quickly. "May, this is probably a practical joke….."

"Well, there's one way to find out." She said as she left the room. Brock followed her. May went to the pine tree and checked on Jessie. A stick-note that was nearly identical to hers was stuck on her forehead. "Jessie, get up!" May shook her.

"…What!" Jessie and Meowth muttered at the same time.

"We have to go save Ash! Oh, and James too…." May explained. At the word 'James', Jessie was immediately wide awake.

"What's wrong? What do you mean by having to save them?" Jessie asked. May handed her the note.

"Read this," May said. Jessie sped through it.

"No……" Jessie's face turned white.

"Come on! We've got to find them!" May helped Jessie get up.

"……….Sorry to interrupt, but may I ask why you two seem like friends?" Brock asked.

"Because we are." May answered firmly. Jessie looked at the ground, slightly embarrassed.

'Weird….' Brock thought.

"Come on you slowpokes, let's go!" Jessie called over her shoulder. She and Meowth were already running in the direction of the mountain.

"Wait for us!" May cried. She and Brock sprinted to catch up. 'Don't worry Ash, I'm coming!' She thought, full of determination to save the boy that she might love.


	6. Chapter 6

Ash glanced around the cave. 'There has to be some way to get out…..' He thought.

"Trying to escape, are you?" The violet pokemon appeared out of no where.

"How do you do that?" Ash wondered.

"I have powers beyond your imagination………." It gave a twisted smile. "Now we must wait for the others to arrive." Ash thought about what it said for a moment. Then a light bulb went off in his head.

"Hey, you sent notes to them to come look for us, didn't you! That's why you wanted to know where they where, and that's what those sticky notes said!" Ash shouted.

"You are much more intelligent than you look young one." It remarked. "Consider that a compliment." Ash had finally met his boiling point.

"What are you going do to us when they arrive!" Ash asked, through clenched teeth. The thing winked at Ash.

"You'll see when they get here!" It giggled.

'This thing is absolutely insane! It acts all tough and serious one moment, and then it winks and giggles the next! Maybe it has multiple personality disorder or something…" Ash thought. Suddenly, a wave of uncharacteristic fury swept over him. He rattled the cage, waking James up for good. 'Why me?' Ash thought angrily, as James rubbed his head. 'Please guys…. don't follow the notes……" He wished as hard as he could.

"Full speed ahead! March, 2, 3, 4….." Jessie was at the back of the group, forcing the others to keep up a very rapid pace. All of them were extremely tired, but it was only mid-afternoon. However, the mountain was still at least a mile away. By this time, Brock had nearly fainted twice, and May was almost having an asthma attack. The only one who wasn't tired was Meowth, who was riding comfortably on Jessie's head.

"Jessie, can we _please _rest for a little while?"May wheezed.

"Oh, alright…." She sighed. In truth, she was about to stop the group herself, but because of her pride, she was thankful that May had asked to stop instead. "Let's rest over there." She pointed to a spot under a huge sycamore. The three plopped down, all leaning against opposite sides of the enormous tree trunk.

"Hey, why don't I whip up a quick little something to eat?" Brock suggested. The girls squealed in delight. Even Jessie had heard of Brock's legendary cooking! He pulled out his girly pink apron out of seemingly no where and quickly went to work. Brock left Jessie and May to ponder about where James and Ash were.

'I will seriously hurt someone if he's not ok!' Both of them thought bitterly.

Ten minutes later, they heard Brock exclaim, "Voila! Lunch is served." He had made those "pokemon rice balls" and a delicious stew. No more words were spoken as they all devoured their meals.

After they finished, and after resting for another few minutes, Jessie asked. "Don't you think that we should get going?"

"What's the hurry?" May yawned. Since the meal was so relaxing, she had completely forgotten why they were there. An "anime vein" appeared on Jessie forehead.

"James and the twerp are probably in grave danger, that's the hurry!" She screamed. May instantly remembered.

"Brock, we have to start moving again!" May told him. He quickly finished packing the rest of his things. They all began heading towards the mountain at top speed (again).

The group was at the base of the mountain within a few hours. "Now where exactly are we supposed to go?" May wondered. Almost if answering her question, two boulders in front of them parted to show a path leading inside of the mountain. Everyone gulped as they left the comfort of the sun and walked into complete darkness. The path was fairly straight and smooth. After walking for a while, the path forked off into two directions.

"What should we do now?" asked Brock. "Should we split up?" The two girls looked at each other for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yes, we should. It might be easier to find them if we go different ways…." May explained.

"Meowth and I will go to the left, and the two of you will go to the right." Jessie said. Just then, a bright purple pokemon none of them have ever seen before appeared in a cloud of white smoke.

"Go your separate ways. Each path will lead to your inevitable doom anyways!" It giggled like a child.

"What kind of a sick freak are you!" May spat. "Were you the one who kidnapped them!"

"Of course I am, little girl!" Just as suddenly as it appeared, it left.

"Whoa, that was weird….." Brock said. "Well Jess, Meowth, I guess we'll see you later."

"If we survive…" Meowth muttered. The groups parted ways.

Back in the cage, Ash and James were getting rather bored. "Do you know any dirty jokes?" James asked. Ash just blankly stared at him (Ash was too busy thinking about May's safety).

"Hello again my prisoners, your friends have arrived!" The thing popped out of no where.

'God I hate it when it does that….' Both Ash and James thought.

"Since I am such a kind and caring pokemon, I will let you watch your friends try to get through my challenges!" It smiled evilly.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Ash yelled.

"Both paths lead straight to this room. I'll tell you why when your friends arrive here. _If _they arrive….." It cackled, and then it was silent for a while. "Hey, do either of you know any dirty jokes?" Both guys were speechless. "Just kidding!" It laughed some more and then left them to watch the huge Plasma screen TV it pulled out.

The first image on the screen was Brock and May. They had come to a clear pond. "This doesn't look too hard to get across……." May dove right into it. A huge reddish-orange tentacle picked her up out of the water. She screamed.

Brock muttered curses under his breath. "Don't worry May, it's just an Octillery! Go, Onix!" The huge rock snake roared at its release. "Pick that thing right out of the water!" Brock commanded. Onix pulled the Octillery out of the water with its mighty jaws. The Octillery shriveled up on land and released May.

"Thanks, Brock." May said.

"Don't mention it, but next time, be more careful." Brock advised. He recalled Onix. The two then hopped from steppingstone to steppingstone to continue along the path (they hadn't noticed the steppingstones earlier).

Ash sighed in relief. "Good…… these challenges are tougher than I thought."

"Shhhhh! Jessie and Meowth are on TV!" James said. On the screen, Jessie and Meowth approached a wide fire pit. Seemingly, the only way to cross it was on a tightrope, which was about the width of a ruler.

"Meowth, there's no way we can cross on that tightrope!" Jessie said.

"Then there has to be some other way! Think Jess!" Meowth and Jessie then went into deep thought.

"Hey, I've got it! Go, Arbok!" The cobra hissed at the fire. "Arbok, see if you can dig a tunnel under the pit." Jessie commanded. The snake dug a hole. A few moments later, it appeared on the other side of the pit, unharmed.

"YAY!" Meowth and Jessie cheered. The two crawled through the tunnel to the other side.

"Thanks Arbok!" Jessie recalled it. The two of them then continued on their way.

James also sighed in relief. "That was close!"

"Oh don't worry, the obstacles get harder!" The purple pokemon appeared out of no where again, this time appearing over their shoulders. Then it disappeared.

"It never stays long, does it?" James asked.

"Nope. I wonder what it's doing," Ash pondered.

"Well, I wonder what the next challenge will be…." James wondered.

Author's note: And you, the reader will have to wonder too! Don't you just love the suspense!


	7. Chapter 7

James' question didn't go unanswered for long. A moment later, May and Brock reappeared on the TV screen.

"Hey Brock, it's Pikachu!" May exclaimed. Sure enough, a little ball of yellow fur lay sleeping on a rock not far ahead of them.

Ash instantly realized that the Pikachu wasn't his. "No…… please notice its stripes are different……" Ash told the TV. But it didn't matter. May had already picked up the sleeping pokemon.

"Awwww….. You're okay now little buddy!" May told it. Suddenly, its eyes glowed red.

"PI-KA-CHHUUUUU!" The demonic Pikachu squealed. It let out a thunderbolt ten times more powerful than Ash's Pikachu could have. May's skin charred, and she fell over.

"MAY!" Both Ash and Brock screamed at the same time. Brock rushed over and picked her up.

"Pika, Pika!" The evil Pikachu taunted Brock.

A vein appeared on Brock's forehead. He put May down and picked a pokeball out of his bag. "Geodude, I choose you!" He yelled. The rock pokemon came out in a flash of red light. "Geodude, use your Rock Throw!"

The strong pokemon made rocks appear out of nowhere and made them come crashing down on the Pikachu. Since the Pikachu was busy being full of itself and taunting Brock, it wasn't prepared for the attack. The small pokemon was crushed beneath the rocks. The lights in the cave dimmed for a moment, and when they were lit again the Pikachu was nowhere in sight.

"How does that purple thing do that?" Ash and James thought.

Brock recalled Geodude and went over to May. "Hey May, can you hear me?

May's eyes fluttered open. "Yeah…. I'm fine, don't worry. But damn, that Pikachu was strong!" She began to wipe the blackness off of her skin.

Ash sighed in relief. 'She's so accident prone! Brock has had to save her twice!' He thought.

"Come on May." Brock helped her up. "I think I see a light at the end of this tunnel." They continued to cautiously make their way toward the light.

The TV changed to show Jessie and Meowth climbing up a rock wall. "I can't believe that stupid path dead-ended!" Jessie muttered. "I hated these stupid rock walls in gym class, and I hate them even more now!" They had made it up the first side of the wall, and now they had to climb down the other side. They began to descend.

Jessie felt around for a foothold. She found one, and used it. But just as she did this, the hole closed up, pushing her foot out. She tried another hole, but it did the same thing. She moved her hand to a different rock, but it sunk into the wall. Meowth was having the same problem.

Meowth cursed under his breath. "Jessie all of the rocks and footholds are sinking into the wall! WE'RE GONNA FALL!"

James gasped as he watched his best friends fall about 100 feet. He couldn't watch as they hit the ground. To his surprise they didn't hit the ground, but they fell through a holographic picture of a ground and into a pool. James wiped his forehead. "That was close… too close!" He muttered.

Jessie and Meowth, realizing they weren't dead, began to swim towards the light at the end of the rock tunnel.

"OWWWWW!" Meowth had gotten bitten by a Sharkpedo. "SWIM FOR YOUR LIFE!" He yelled. Jessie and Meowth sprinted to the edge of the pool and climbed out. Meowth only had a small chunk of his tail bitten off. However, Jessie's leg looked like it had been cut by a serrated knife.

She tried not to cry. It wasn't working very well.

"Jessie, that looks pretty bad. Do you want to rest?" Meowth asked.

Of course she wanted to rest. But instead she bit her lip and whispered, "No, what if James is hurt and needs us?" She fought back tears, stood up, and began to make her way towards the light.

James could hardly watch. He sniffled. 'Jessie….' He thought.

"Do you see James? She really does care about you," Ash's voice trailed off. All James could do was nod.

The TV then showed May and Brock enter a huge and empty cave from the right. A few moments later, Jessie and Meowth came into the cave from the left. "Hey Jessie, you're not looking too good." May called over to her. Brock and May went over to Jessie and Meowth.

"Let's not split up anymore," Jessie's voice was hoarse. Brock and May nodded. The group set their eyes on the third entrance, which was the way in which they'd leave the cave.

"I see why that weird purple thing wanted us to split up in the beginning. If we hadn't split up, we wouldn't have known which way to go once we reached here," Brock commented.

With that said, the group made their way towards the exit. Surprisingly, nothing got in their way. The exit led to yet another rocky tunnel.

'How much more could there be?' thought May.

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update! Love you guys!


	8. Chapter 8

Authors note: This story was written with the help of my amazing friend who most of the bottom half. So thank her. and if you catch it, a line from "A Midsummer's Night's Dream" is placed carefully in here (also the genius idea of Cate). See who can find it first.

Ash and James jumped as the purple thing popped into the room. "Having fun watching your little friends nearly kill themselves on TV? I'm starting to think this is better than HBO!" The purple pokemon giggled crazily after speaking. It floated in dizzying circles around the room. "I know something you don't know, ha ha ha-ha ha," It chanted in a childish sing-song voice.

"What do you know? What are you going to do to them! Ash demanded.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough puny humans. They should be in his room in about five minutes. That is, if they can survive!" It cackled menacingly.

"Why are you doing this? What joy does torturing innocent people bring to you!" James wailed.

"I already told you! When I torture people, such as your friends, I don't have to spend the extra 25 bucks a month on HBO!" It laughed even harder. Just as suddenly as it came, it disappeared.

"James, that thing is absolutely nuts. And it has a really twisted sense of humor." Ash clutched the bars of the cage in anger. 'When I get out of here, I'm going to catch that purple thing and make it regret what it has done!' Ash thought lividly.

The group suddenly flashed on the TV. They were still in the rock tunnel. Brock and Meowth were leading the way. May was in the rear with her arm around Jessie's shoulders, making it easier for Jessie to walk.

'I hope we find Ash soon,' May thought hopefully. All of the sudden, Brock and Meowth, who were leading the way, stopped in their tracks. The ground, with a loud jarring noise, abruptly parted.

"Oh come on! Why does the ground always split apart like that?" Jessie groaned. It seemed like that always _had_ to happen to her.

Then they fell for what seemed like forever. As soon as they hit rock bottom, a long, piercing scream was heard. However, it was a scream filled with delight! THEY HAD FOUND ASH AND JAMES!

Ash wasn't as satisfied as they were. Yes, he was overjoyed to see May, glowing with life, but he knew that that sick minded thing had something in mind for all his friends. After all, they had fallen directly into his cage (complete with all 27 locks). "This is going to take longer than hoped for," he complained silently.

"Lord, what fools these mortals be," thought the lilac creature devilishly. They have no clue what was in store for them.

May jumped with delight and held herself extremely close to Ash, as if not to let him get away again. Surprisingly, he wasn't complaining.

Jessie and James stood awkwardly in the corner. They knew about their feelings for each other, but didn't want to admit it upfront. Yes, May easily showed her feelings for Ash, but Jessie was more prideful than that. Perhaps she would never fully recognize her feelings for James, or maybe she would (wink wink, nudge nudge).

The creature stood, undetected, lurking around. He wanted to enjoy all this happiness while it lasted. "HBO must have some happy moments," he guessed, "so let them be happy. I'm looking forward to their reactions soon to come!"

Brock was the first one to come to his senses. "YOU GUYS!" He exclaimed. "We're in a cage here! Please, let's be reasonable. No screaming, jumping, or giggling like a mad man."

"But none of us have giggled!" May said sourly. She didn't like being accused falsely. The high-pitched giggle sounded again.

"Oh no, we've heard that laugh before," Ash whispered to James. He nodded. Ash silently grabbed May's hand, like a warning to what was going to happen.

The creature came out of the shadows and turned on the T.V. Like a flash, HBO was playing some sappy love story. "HEY!" screamed James, "I thought you said you didn't want to pay for HBO!"

"Hey, we all have our needs," the purple menace stated as he turned bright red. "You get a bit boring after a bit. But now I have a task for you."

"Oh no," groaned Ash. What could it possibly want with them now?


	9. Chapter 9

Author's note: Sorry for the really long wait. Now that summer is here, I will be writing a lot more.

"I want all of you to make the most difficult decision of your lives," began the purple pokemon, who appeared just after Ash spoke. "You all must decide, as a group, which one of you will die!"

The group stared awestruck at it. "You're crazy if you think we're going to give up one of our friends to you!" Ash blurted out.

"Trust me, you'll see things my way once you hear the rest," it explained. After pausing for dramatic effect it said, "If you don't pick one of your friends to die, you all will fall into a boiling pit of lava!" It giggled. "You have five minutes to choose your fate." The pokemon vanished into thin air.

Meowth whimpered. "Meowth don't wanna go to da big house in the sky!" He cried and hugged James. He petted the distraught cat.

"Guys, if we keep our heads, no one will die," said Ash. They all looked at him quizzically.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" questioned May.

"The three of you still have your pokemon with you!" Ash pointed to Brock, May, and Jessie as he spoke. "We can use them to escape."

All of their faces lit up at his idea. "Go Onix!" yelled Brock.

"Skitty, I chose you," exclaimed May.

"Arbok, go!" screamed Jessie. All three pokemon popped out of their pokeballs, awaiting their master's command.

"Arbok, use acid to weaken the cage!" Jessie called. The snake hissed and then spat a black oozy liquid at the cage.

"Onix, break the cage with your bite!" Brock commanded.

"Skitty, use assist to help Onix!" May added. Onix easily broke through the cage with Skitty's help. "Come on everybody, lets GO!" screamed May. She, Brock, and Jessie recalled their pokemon. Ash, May, and Brock sprinted out of the cage towards a tunnel. Meowth followed suit.

"Jessie, let me carry you," pleaded James. Jessie stared indignantly at him. She weakly tried to pull herself up.

"James, I'll slow you down and you might not make it," she whispered. She was nearly crying. "Please go ahead. I'll catch up," she croaked. James shook his head. Without another word he bent down, picked her up, and took off at full speed.

"Did you really think I was going to leave you there with that insane purple thing? Come on Jess, you know I care about you." James told her through huffs of breath. Jessie blushed.

"Thank you," she whispered. Both of them could see the rest of the group, about 50 yards ahead. 'I hope we make it…' she thought worriedly.

Ash, May, Brock, and Meowth could see a light at the end of the tunnel. "We've almost made it!" cried May.

Little did they know that the purple thing was watching their every step. "Silly humans, tricks are for oafish and pathetically stupid pokemon!" Its voice sounded throughout the tunnel.

"UGGG!" screamed James. He (and Jessie) had caught up to the rest of them. The group kept on running, but it was too late. Bars had sprung up and blocked the exit.

"Because all of you defied me, you all must pay the price!" The pokemon's voice bellowed. A rumbling was heard. In the distance lava could be seen, and it was heading straight for our heroes! Panic broke out amongst the group.

"Oh Ash, I don't want to die!" May cried. She practically threw herself at him. He just rubbed her back and whispered comforting things to her.

"I guess this is the end," the Meowth said. He turned to Jessie and James. "I wanna thank you guys for being such good friends to me! You made me feel like I had a family, and that I was loved…." His voice broke off into tears. He jumped into Jessie's lap, forcing James to sit down because of the extra weight.

"Why do I have to die unloved and a virgin! WHY GOD WHY?" screamed Brock. He began to run around in circles like a madman. The others chose to ignore him for the time being.

"Jessie," began James, "we've been through so much together. We've known each other since we were children. You've been my best, and sometimes, my only friend. Without you, I have no idea where I'd be. You've changed my life for the better, Jessie, and I want to thank you for always being there for me. Jessie…" He paused, not knowing whether he should continue his thought. He decided to anyways. "I love you with my whole heart." She was so touched that she could hardly speak.

"James, I..." she croaked. He cut her off with a swift kiss. She gladly accepted it, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Ash glanced back at Jessie and James. He was quite shocked, to say the least. 'Nice going, Jimmy boy,' he thought. He looked down at May, who was still in his arms. 'May, I have something to say," She looked up at him with teary eyes.

"We haven't been through a lot of hard times. I've known you for less than a year. Yet I feel more attached to you than anyone I have ever met. May I lo-"

"Ash, you don't have to finish your thought. I know exactly what you mean." May kissed him on the cheek. Ash took her face in his hands and shyly placed his lips to hers. She broke the kiss to look at the approaching lava. It was less than 20 feet away. She buried her head in his chest. "Goodbye Ash," she whimpered.

Author's note: Don't you love a cliffhanger? Now click the little review button and tell me what you think about the story.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: This is the LAST CHAPTER! I hope it's good…

All May could see was blackness. She could feel that she was lying on dewy grass. "Come… Wake up… don't leave us…" an angelic voice called. "May… May… MAY!" Her eyes fluttered open.

"What..?" May cooed.

"May, please wake up. We're alive!" Ash explained. May sat up and stretched her arms out.

"But how could that be? We were hit by flaming hot lava!" pondered May. She looked around her. Everyone was safe and awake. They were sitting on a green hill, with the blue sky overhead. "Hey we're out of the mountain!" May realized.

The purple pokemon appeared. "Of course you are. You didn't really think I'd kill you, did you?" The purple thing asked rhetorically. "The whole lava thing was yet another hologram. You all breathed in a drug which knocked you out. Then I brought you out here with my physic powers."

"Then why did you feel the need to kidnap our friends and put us through ridiculous challenges?" Jessie questioned angrily.

The purple thing grinned smugly. Suddenly, a bright white light surrounded it. The group gasped as they watch it change shape. The "Mewtwo" was really Ash's Haunter, which Ash had released years before! "Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Haunter asked the group.

"Ok. I am officially confused. I thought you liked me, Haunter! Why would you put our lives in danger!" Ash questioned.

Haunter shook his head. "None of you were ever really in any serious, life-threatening danger. The Octillery who picked May up was trained not to hurt her. The fiery pit was a hologram. The pikachu who shocked May was also a hologram, but the thunderbolt came from a machine, so I knew it wouldn't injure her severely. The only part where I messed up was the Sharkpedo tank. I _told _them not to hurt you, but noooo they never listen; I'm sorry Jessie." He paused to catch his breath. "I wasn't expecting you all to break out of the cage, but since I have hologram machines installed all throughout the cave, it didn't matter."

The group took a moment to let the information sink in. "Wait just a darn minute. You still haven't told us _why_ you captured us; you have just told us how you did it." James stated.

"You see…. The point of all of this was to make certain people admit their love for other certain people." Haunter shot a look directly at Ash, James, May, and Jessie. "The only way to make stubborn people (such as you guys) admit their feelings is to put them under extreme stress."

"How did you know who would end up paired with whom? Did you do this by yourself, or were you told to by someone else!" exclaimed Ash.

"Yes, I was told to do this by someone else. She told me who to pair with whom, though it wouldn't have been hard to figure out." Haunter replied.

"So who was it? Who told you to do this?" Jessie asked.

"I did, young one!" The mayor of the town hopped down from a tree. (Surprisingly, she didn't displace her hip or anything.) May, Brock, Jessie, and Meowth's jaws dropped in surprise. "For the two who do not know me, I am the mayor of this island." She looked at James and Ash as she spoke. "I believe that love is the key to a happier world. Haunter here is my friend. He helps me fulfill what I think is a great service to the community. We watch over people on the island and see who is in love but not admitting it. Then, haunter takes one person out of the couple and brings them to the mountain. The rest you know." She paused. "The moment you stepped on this island Haunter recognized you, Ash. He insisted that I help you admit your feelings. He also remembered you two, Jessie and James. He wanted all of you to be happy. So you can thank him." Haunter looked proud of itself as the mayor finished.

Everything made sense to the group now. After a few minutes of chatter Ash said, "Well, we all thank you for your help. But next time you play matchmaker, please try to make it a little less scary!" Everyone nodded.

"Nah,things aremore fun when it's sort of dangerous!" said Haunter. "Besides, we don't have to pay for HBO when we match make!" Ash and James laughed. Haunter winked at them. "If you ever see a couple in need of help, send them to us."

"We will." replied May. Everyone was standing up by now. "I think we'd better take off." Everyone nodded again. The group turned to leave.

"Just remember what you have learned," said the Mayor.

"We will!" everyone replied in unison. Once the group was a fair ways away from the Mayor, Meowth brought up an important subject. "Hey, does this mean the twerps and the rockets are pals now?"

"Yes, Meowth, we are." May replied.

"However, to keep our jobs we can't travel with you guys." stated Jessie. "You never know when the boss is tailing you." A little while later they came to a fork in the road. "We'll take the road to the left." She paused. "Where are you guys heading next, so we can start following you again?"

"I think we're just going to head to Pallet Town for some rest." replied Ash. May and Brock agreed with him. "I guess we'll see you there?"

"You can count on it!" said a cheerful James. The twerps and the rockets parted ways. Soon after the parting with Ash and his friends, James took Jessie's hand in his own and asked, "You know, now I'm happy that Haunter kidnapped me."

"You do realize that things are going to be different between us now," Jessie stated.

James replied, "In a way, yes. But just because you know I love you as a lover doesn't mean I won't still treat you as a friend as well." Jessie nodded. She leaned in closer to James as they walked towards the setting sun.

Meanwhile, Ash and May were having a similar conversation. "Please don't start acting all mushy-gushy now that you know I love you," said Ash.

"Me be mushy-gushy with you? Never!" May said. She winked at him.

"I feel so alone…" murmured Brock.

"Don't feel that way!" said May. "You're sure to find a girl soon enough."

"But in the meanwhile, you're just going to have to deal with May and I being a couple." Ash stated. He put his arm around May as he spoke. She blushed. The group was silent.

'What an adventure! I was kidnapped, made friends with my enemies, and told May I loved her.' thought Ash. 'This has been the most exciting few days of my life.' And with that thought he smiled and hoped that tomorrow would bring another exhilarating adventure.

Author's note: So what did you think? Bet you you weren't expecting that ending! Hey, I'm proud of myself that I figured out a way to get all of them safely away from the lava! Please review!


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